Thursday, May 10, 2012

The scoop at Yarmouth: Students step up to real-world challenge

When a company like Friendly’s struggles to emerge from Chapter
11 bankruptcy protection, desperate times often call for desperate
measures.

Could students at Yarmouth High School help?

Friendly Ice Cream Corp., based in
Wilbraham, Mass., is a 77-year-old company known for its ice cream and
hamburgers. When the economic downturn, coupled with higher costs and
high rents, drove it into bankruptcy, company leaders realized the need
for a new model, a new business plan and a new image.The VIA Agency is a hip advertising and marketing firm located in
Portland. Already engaged in a fresh ad campaign for Friendly’s, the
group’s creative director decided to reach out to a resource that had
sparked great ideas in the past.

“While on a field trip with my students to tour VIA, Teddy Stoecklein
asked if I thought my students would like to help out with a real
creative challenge,” recalled Melissa Noack, an Art and Graphics Design
teacher at Yarmouth High School. “I embraced the opportunity.”